United scouts blown away by PL maestro no one is talking about, talks already held over £30m move – report

Manchester United are huge admirers of AFC Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams for three key reasons, according to the latest reports. Midfield Rebuild A major revamp of the engine room is the priority at Old Trafford this summer. Three new options could arrive in place of Casemiro, whose contract expires in June, and Manuel Ugarte, whom INEOS are keen to cut their losses on. The club’s primary targets are a selection of the finest operators in the Premier League, headed by Nottingham Forest powerhouse Elliot Anderson. Sandro Tonali (Newcastle), Carlos Baleba (Brighton) and Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace) also feature highly on the list. But all four are expected to cost up to, if not more than, £100 million to prise from their respective clubs. Accordingly, United have also identified a selection of ‘cheaper’ alternatives to help balance the books. This has led to Adams — Bournemouth’s box-to-box dynamo — quickly emerging as a key target going under the radar in comparison to these other names. Underlying Metrics Two of the boxes that the United States international, who is set to play a key role for his country at the World Cup this summer, ticks are obvious: Premier League proven and ‘cheap’. A fee of around £30 million has been suggested after United held talks with the player’s camp in January to lay the groundwork for a potential deal. But more important than Adams’ price or pedigree are his performances, which have blown United’s recruitment department away. Nathan Salt (Daily Mail) reveals the analytics team at Old Trafford, headed by INEOS chief Michael Sansoni, “love” the 27-year-old as he ranks highly across so many different underlying statistics. “United’s data department love him. Anyone you speak to says he scores so highly on this metric and that metric. They are adamant that he statistically, the analytics show he is really, really good — and they’ve liked him for a while,” the transfer expert told Stretford Paddock. Adams is also understood to be a leader in the dressing room, at both club and international level, and possesses the versatility to fulfil a number of roles on the pitch. Salt concludes that while these types of “mid-ranking” signings in terms of expenditure are “difficult for fans to get excited about”, recruitment revolves around building a squad as much as a starting XI. Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Darragh Fox Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.